As California school districts scramble to meet the state’s legislative requirement to provide a course in ethnic studies by the fall of 2025, more attention is focusing on a part of the legislation stipulating that full funding must be provided by the state before the mandate can be enacted. To date, full funding has not yet happened.
The ethnic studies bill, AB 101, was signed into law by Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021 and requires that all high school students complete a one-semester course in ethnic studies as a condition for graduation beginning with the class of 2030.
But AB 101 includes a clause stating that the bill is inoperative if not fully funded, and funding is estimated to be about $276 million annually.
The requirement to implement ethnic studies “would become operative only upon an appropriation of funds by the Legislature for these purposes in the annual Budget Act or another statute,” according to a summary of the text of AB 101.
“Because the bill would add new duties to local educational agencies, it would constitute a state-mandated local program,” [and] “the California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state.”
The insertion of this savings clause “indicated legislators’ legitimate fiscal concerns,” said Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, co-founder of the AMCHA Initiative, in an opinion piece published last year in EdSource.
She argued that AB-101’s “only upon an appropriation of funds” clause means that school districts need not require ethnic studies if the governor and state lawmakers opt not to fund “the exorbitant requirement.”
The cost
The Calif. Dept. of Education’s $276 million annual estimated amount to fund ethnic studies state-wide is for “adding a new graduation requirement in ethnic studies on top of other existing requirements, rather than replacing an existing course,” according to the state’s analysis of the measure.
California’s Senate Appropriations Committee arrived at the $276 million figure by estimating the cost of hiring newly trained teachers and training existing staff, plus costs for instructional materials and other expenditures.
According to a recent article in EdSource published three weeks ago, “That lack of funding is creating uncertainty about the future of ethnic studies and suspense about whether Newsom will deliver the money next month when he proposes his 2025–26 budget.”
San Diego assembly member David Alvarez is quoted as saying, “It’s pretty clear that the law only really takes effect if there is funding for this during the budgetary process … But that doesn’t mean that that won’t happen in the budget that’s to be released in January, which then funds the 2025–26 school year.”
Alvarez, who chairs the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance, said he expects the mandate to be funded at that time.
A spokesperson at the San Diego County Office of Education, which is coordinating state grants to develop ethnic studies course curricula, declined to comment on the unfunded mandate issue, according to the EdSource article.
San Dieguito
To cover some initial costs, a one-time allocation of $50 million, less than one-fifth of the annual estimated cost, was provided to districts last year, based on $25.57 per student in grades 9-12.
Last year, San Dieguito Union High School District received $227,950 as its share of the $50 million one-time apportionment from the state.
About the unfunded mandate, SDUHSD Associate Superintendent of Business Services Stephen Dickinson said school districts are often presented with requirements from the state that are not fully funded.
For instance, special education may be one of the “biggest, longest-standing examples of a requirement,” he said, adding that it’s a great program and provides great services but “is massively under-funded.”
“In this case the requirement is out there,” he said, about ethnic studies. “Whether we get full funding or not is somewhat irrelevant. They could literally appropriate a minimal amount and the requirement stands.”
“I’d guess this conversation is happening across the state and is likely to be an item that the governor addresses in his January proposal,” Dickinson said
Bryan Marcus, SDUHSD’s Associate Superintendent of Educational Services, said the one-time grant has been used for professional development and teacher releases to help create material for the course and assist with the implementation of ethnic studies, but he added that professional development was needed for all subject areas, not just ethnic studies.
Dickinson said the $228,000 went into the general fund, and it’s yet to be determined how much has been used specifically for ethnic studies.
“I’d have to spend some time with Steve [Dickinson] just seeing where we are as we approach the mid-year point in our year, of how much we have itemized for each area,” Marcus said.
Dickinson said he plans to address this in the next few months.
Ethnic studies units
At SDUHSD’s Dec. 16 board meeting, trustees voted 3-2 to approve the fourth of four ethnic studies units.
SDUHSD is using the approved State Board of Education Model Curriculum to guide the initial design of ethnic studies, and will partner with San Diego County Office of Education for professional development and training for teachers and staff.
Now that all four units have been approved by the school board, the entire four-unit ethnic studies course will be brought to the board for approval in early 2025.
The course will be offered in the fall of 2025, and the following year it becomes a graduation requirement for the class of 2030 (current seventh-grade students entering ninth grade in the fall of 2026).
The district has chosen to embed ethnic studies into the district’s English 9 and English 9 Honors courses, which will allow the majority of students to meet both the English requirement and the ethnic studies requirement by taking the core course.
However, the district’s decision to embed ethnic studies into ninth-grade English, rather than offer a stand-alone course, was not without controversy.
One question was how to handle students who transfer into the district in tenth, 11th or 12th grades who would not be eligible for ninth-grade English but would still need to take a semester course in ethnic studies to graduate.
According to a district spokesperson, “As with all high school graduation requirements, alternative means for pupils to fulfill the requirements will be available. This may include online, college-level, or concurrent off-campus courses from accredited institutions, summer school or additional SDUHSD course offerings.” As of press time, no further details were provided about these options.
Located in the north coastal area of San Diego County, San Dieguito educates about 12,600 students in grades 7-12 at five middle schools and four high schools.
The district’s website has a link for frequently asked questions about the district’s plan to implement ethnic studies.
Carlsbad Unified
Last year, Carlsbad Unified School District received $99,939 as its share of the $50 million one-time ethnic studies apportionment from the state.
CUSD’s Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Robert Nye wrote in an email that the district is choosing to offer a stand-alone ethnic studies class and is working with a planning committee and advisory groups to develop the coursework.
Regarding the lack of state funding, Nye, who coordinated his response with CUSD’s Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Eric Dill, said most of the costs associated with adding additional graduation requirements like ethnic studies comes from development of curriculum, acquisition of instructional materials and professional development.
“Without sustained funding, districts must balance this mandate with other critical educational priorities,” Nye said. The district “remains hopeful that the legislature will appropriate additional funds for this important graduation requirement.”
Despite the lack of funding to date, Nye said CUSD “recognizes the educational value of ethnic studies” and is “committed to preparing for its implementation.”
“We will be watching the governor’s budget proposal on January 10 and the slate of bills the legislature will introduce in this session,” he said.
Carlsbad Unified, located north of the San Dieguito district, serves about 10,800 students in grades kindergarten through 12th at nine elementary schools, three middle schools and two high schools. The district serves Carlsbad as well as parts of the communities of Oceanside and San Marcos. Some areas in Carlsbad are served by the San Dieguito district.
Schmitt returns
As an aside, Carlsbad Unified recently announced that former San Dieguito Superintendent Rick Schmitt was named interim superintendent, following the resignation of former CUSD Superintendent Benjamin Churchill who was just hired as superintendent of the Poway Unified School District.
Schmitt previously worked in the San Dieguito Union High School District for 13 years – as principal of Torrey Pines High School for three years, then six years as associate superintendent of educational services, followed by one year as deputy superintendent before serving as superintendent from 2013 to 2016. He served as superintendent of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District from 2016 until retiring in 2020.
Schmitt said the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) caps all retirees at an income of $74,000 each fiscal year and is being paid $1,350 for each work day at CUSD.
“I will work part time through June 30, 2025, or until the new superintendent begins,” he said in an email. “I plan to work two to three full days each week.”
The controversy
The purpose of the high school ethnic studies graduation requirement is to teach students about the often-overlooked contributions and struggles of Native Americans, African Americans, Latino/a Americans and Asian Americans. The state’s model curriculum focuses on these four ethnic groups at the core of the ethnic studies field.
But since the coursework may delve into systems of power that have contributed to the marginalization of these and other ethnic groups, there exists legitimate concern that the teaching of ethnic studies may create further divisions among groups of students rather than advancing better understanding.
Serious professional development of educators is key to reducing the possibility of creating tension among groups of students. Classes with teachers inadequately prepared to teach ethnic studies could easily undermine the intent of the course.
As one legislator once said about the ethnic studies requirement, “Imagine taking an unprepared teacher into the classroom. It can go sideways.”
Although there are many unfunded mandates for school districts to contend with, the requirement that ethnic studies can only be implemented if funding is appropriated, as written in the AB 101 bill, is a unique condition.
Because the mandate stands, districts are proceeding with this graduation requirement, minus funding to date, and will undoubtedly incur expenses from the general fund.
As we approach the point where the funding question becomes more relevant, many will be watching to see if the legislative savings clause has any teeth or is simply ignored.
Opinion columnist and education writer Marsha Sutton can be reached at [email protected].
